Ruth Rose and Jack attend Tenth anniversary sinking of Titanic
by fanfaction lover
Summary: This is the continuing story of Ruth Rose and Jack and the rest of the survivors of the great ship's sinking.
1. Chapter 1

It was now almost ten years since the great ship had sunk. Rose hardly thought that it was a time for celebration, but her friend Molly Brown had been busy arranging a reunion of the survivors of the sinking.

Molly Brown had been busy working on getting people that she knew were still in the area who had been on the Titanic. She had a list of survivors and had tried to contact all of them. 'Ten years. It had been so long since the sinking. She thought of all the people on the great ship that had drowned on that night. She had lost so many friends. Molly wanted to honor their memory and the best way to do that was by having a reunion.

She had the help of Madeleine Astor and the two had been very busy working on the reunion together. Madeleine now had a son . She had been pregnant when the ship had struck an iceberg. Getting all the information out had been hard. There were some passengers that Molly had not been able to find. But she had received letters from over eighty people who said that they would be attending the reunion. The reunion was going to be the first of many they both hoped.

The reunion was to be held at the Waldorf Astoria and they had managed to rent most of the rooms for the reunion. They already had a need for over seventy guests and they were sure that the list was going to get longer.

Molly had sent out the invitations to her friends Rose Jack and Ruth. She had been saddened to hear of Bill's passing, but heard that there was a new one In the family now. They now had a son and grandson Jack Jr. Molly looked forward to seeing and meeting him.

Back in California things were finally beginning to settle down . Ruth had moved to her new house and had hired a lady to come and help out around the house and drive her places. Ruth was not interested in driving a car, and this lady was a very good driver and a good friend and housekeeper. Ruth didn't mind doing housework anymore, but she now had no one to help her with the heavier things

Madge Ryan was looking for a job. There wasn't too much out there for women that paid enough to live on. She was a widow who had been married to her husband for over thirty five years when he had passed away. She had two boys who both wanted her to move in with them. But they had their own lives to lead and she wanted to have her own life. She had been reading the newspaper when she had read that a woman was looking for help in her private home.

The minute Madge walked in the door she knew that she was the woman for the job. The job was just what she was looking for. She would have her own room and a nice home in a new part of town. The house was not that large and there were no children. The lady was looking for someone who knew how to drive . Madge loved to drive and had learned a lot about doing minor repairs on automobiles too. She had gladly accepted the job offer and had been very happy with Ruth her new employer.

Ruth had come over to talk to Madge about a trip that she was planning with her daughter and son in law. "I will be gone for about three weeks. I would appreciate if you would agree to keep an eye on the house for me. I know that you would like to have a chance to spend some time with your grandchildren." Ruth had told her friend with a smile.

Madge had been happy to hear Ruth. She did want to get to spend some time with her grandchildren. She would stay at the house and keep it clean while Ruth was gone. Now, she was helping Ruth pack for the long trip. The ride was going to be seven days each way. It would be long and very tiring. But they were renting a private railway car and would ride in the lap of luxury.

Ruth knew that she was going to be gone at least a few weeks and she had to make arrangements. She was lucky that she and Jack were able to get the time off from their work. But work had been slow at the studio as of late. The nanny would also stay with them in New York. She would also work as a babysitter for him too. That way both Rose and Jack could go to the reunion together and not worry about little Jack. The nanny had been glad to get a chance to ride on a private train to New York and couldn't wait to go.

Jack smiled as he went into his son's room. Rose was busy packing his bags for the trip. She was such a good looking young woman he had been so lucky to get his memory back. They had now been married for four years now. Sometimes his memory was a little slow and perhaps when he met others who had been on the ship the night it sunk some more of his memories would return.

As Jack packed the car he Rose Jack Jr. and the nanny all headed out to the train. Ruth was going to be driven to the station by her maid and friend Madge. As Jack looked the car over he was glad for this. There was barely any room for all of them and their luggage in the car.

When they arrived at the station Ruth was already busy bringing in her things to the train. Everyone climbed on the train and Jack Jr. ran over to one of the windows. As they watched the train left the depot. They were on their way to New York. The journey had begun.


	2. Chapter 2

Rose had tried not to remember her time on the Titanic. Oh she had met Jack there and her life had been changed forever on the ship, but the sinking held so many bad memories for her. She would remember forever, she was sure, the shouts of the people around her in the water who begged for someone to come and save their lives.

She remembered how she had taken the whistle out of the mouth of a dead officer and blew it. She remembered how she was so cold that she could no longer even shake. She remembered lying in the lifeboat with a thin blanket around her soaking wet thinking that she had lost Jack. It was the worst moments of her life and she wasn't sure if she wanted to revisit those moments with others.

But on the other hand everyone who was going to be attending the reunion had lost someone that night she is sure. She also knew that everyone heard and saw sights that no one should ever see. Perhaps it would be therapeutic after all for her and Jack and her mother.

Many of the survivors were no longer alive also. She thought of the young boy who had been on the deck playing. He had died in a car accident just a few short months after the sinking. There were so many who had died in the past ten years. Another problem was that half the passengers came from Europe and would not be coming to the United States for the reunion.

As Rose rode on the train she watched as the world went by and brought herself back to the Titanic. She was just seventeen and felt herself a prisoner on the ship. She had her private maid Trudy with her . Trudy had been not only her personal maid but also her friend. She was not much older than Rose and always stood on her side.

Trudy was a young Irish girl who had come to work with Rose when she was but sixteen. She shared many of Rose's interests and had stayed with Rose even though she was not being paid. Cal had paid for her fare to come over to the United States or she wouldn't have been able to come. Rose wondered where Trudy was now.

Rose thought about the last time that she had seen Trudy. Rose's mother had not even thought of Trudy when she had gotten into the lifeboat that awful night. Trudy was left to fend for herself. Although, she was with the first class passengers, everyone knew that she was a maid . This made them think that she was lower than they were. That was some of the people, some of the people in first class were not like that. But, to people like Rose's mother Ruth at the time people like Trudy were considered expendable.

As the lifeboats had been lowering that night Rose had seen Trudy up on deck and had helped her get into one of the lifeboats. Trudy had begged Rose to get into the lifeboat with her but Rose had refused. Rose had stood there and watched with Jack as the lifeboat was lowered into the ocean and then rowed away from the boat. Once Rose was sure that her friend Trudy was all right she had realized the horrible dilemma that she and Jack were now in.

Trudy Callahan had been married now for six years. She had met her husband Sean at the local church and was the mother of two young girls. She was surprised when she got a letter inviting her to come to a Titanic reunion. She thought of the night when the ship had gone down. She had watched her Rose stand on the deck with the young man Jack. She did not see her again. It had been hard losing her friend and confident. So many of the personal servants had been left to fend for themselves once the people they worked for had escaped to the lifeboats.

Yes, some of the servants went with their employers onto the boats but many were not told what was going on and by the time they realized the danger it was too late. But her Rose had insisted that she get on a boat and she had survived the sinking.

Trudy showed her husband Sean the letter and told him that she would like to go to the reunion. Sean loved his wife and knew that the sinking had deeply affected her. She was a good wife and mother . He told her "All right we shall all go to the reunion together. It is in the center of the city not far from here."

Ruth was wondering what the reunion would be like herself. There would be many people that she had known when she had been a passenger. But, she was not the same person that she had been on the ship. She had been a snobbish selfish person who thought that she was too good for most. She thought of how she had done nothing that wasn't considered sociably acceptable. She had always walked and spoke with class. Now after a few years of being with the middle class American she was much more comfortable with them than the rich.

That was when Ruth laughed to herself. When she had been on the Titanic everything was for show. She didn't have a dime and owed everyone in town. She was desperate for money and Cal had been her only hope. Now, she was a wealthy woman once again and would rather be with the middle class passengers. But, she would see and perhaps everyone will have changed.

Jack on the other hand hoped that someone would bring back some of his memories. He was still plagued by blank spots in his memory and hoped that someone could say something that would jog his memory.

As the train made another stop they were gold that there would be a three hour delay while the train changed engines and crew. The group left the private car and stepped out into what was a wide open prairie. They stretched their bodies and Jack Jr. played for a while in the fresh air. Then they heard the sound of the whisle and they got back into their car. They were on their way to New York once again.


	3. Chapter 3

The ride to New York had finally come to an end. The three friends arrived at the hotel and got their rooms. The rooms were magnificent and had many modern conveniences.

Jack reached for the phone and called Molly. Molly was not at home she was at the hotel right then making arrangements for the large group of people that she and Mrs. Astor were both expecting to show up at this reunion.

On the other side of the ocean there was going to be a reunion taking place in Southampton. The reunion was planned and sanctioned by the White Star line. Molly thought that perhaps it was more of a publicity stunt for the line possibly. But, she had kept in contact with many of the people from the other side of the ocean and they would exchange stories later.

As the three friends went down into the large banquet hall where the reunion was going to be held they found Molly Brown over in the corner talking to one of the caterers. "You know Sonny I want the dinner to be the same for everyone, no matter what class they were in when they sailed on the Titanic. We are all survivors and there is no class at any of my reunions."

The man had bowed and headed back to the kitchen. As Molly turned around she saw her three friends standing there and came right over to them "Welcome my friends. I am so glad that you could take the time off to come to our little reunion. Molly waved Mrs. Astor over and introduced each of them to her. She was a gracious lady and greeted each one of them quietly. She remembered them from the ship .

Molly showed them all around the room. There were several pictures of the ship and several photos of both survivors and people who had died that fateful night. They could see that Molly had been working hard to make things right . Immediately the three of them went to work getting things ready for the party. There was a lot of work to do and they spent most of the afternoon working on the room.

The next day was to be the reunion and everyone was nervous. Mrs. Astor and Molly both asked their three friends if they would be interested in greeting the survivors as they came into the hall. Molly and Mrs. Astor had worked hard to make sure that everyone was mixed in their seatings. They wanted everyone to get to know each other and hoed that the reunion would be something that could be repeated every few years.

As the day came and the five friends made their way to the banquet hall to greet the people they checked each other carefully to make sure that they were all pleasant appearing. They did not want to flaunt their wealth, but wanted to make sure that they looked very presentable to the people who would be arriving.

There was also going to be the press there. Molly had contacted the newspapers about the reunion and several had expressed an interest in covering the reunion and hearing the stories once again that the survivors had to offer.

The people started to show up and Molly and her friends were surprised at how many of the people they remembered seeing. The first group that Ruth and Rose were glad to see once again were the Beckwith's . The family had been in the suite located just across the hall from hers. She remembered Helen because she was Rose's age and had many of the same interests.

Rose smiled to herself, because she knew that Helen's mother had not approved of her dating a tennis player. But Karl Behr had survived the Titanic disaster. He was now an attorney and he was there with Helen and her family at the reunion. Jack looked at Rose wondering what she was thinking.

As they greeted more and more of the people who had once shared the tragic loss of the great ship a lady came over to Rose. My name is Mary. I was in the lifeboat that pulled you from the water. I am the lady who gave you my blanket for warmth. When you got onto the rescue ship I gave you a cup of hot tea. Do you remember me?" she asked.

"I do remember you. There is nothing that I can say to let you know how grateful I am for your act of kindness. If it hadn't been for you and the others on that lifeboat I might not be here." Rose told her as she gave the woman a big hug.

The lady smiled and said "I would like you to meet my husband George. My first husband was Ed he died on the Titanic." she told her as they hugged. Rose introduced the lady to Jack but she too didn't recognize the man.

Jack had been hoping that someone would remember him from the ship. He had just about given up on finding anyone that remembered him when a very pretty lady came over to him and Rose. At first Rose didn't recognize the lady, but then she realized it was Trudy. Her best friend and personal maid. She was a beautiful woman who had thought that she had lost her best friend on the ship.

When Trudy had seen Rose's picture and name on the list of people attending the reunion, she had been so happy. She remembered Jack well and told him of how he remembered him and Rose dancing down in the third class. She had never felt welcome at the first class and had made some friends down in the third class. She had snuck down to the party herself that night. When she had seen Jack and Rose she had snuck back up the stairs.

Ruth remembered Trudy very well and although when she had been the snob from first class she had never been mean to her, she had never said many kind words to her either. But now Ruth had learned her life's lesson and Trudy was welcome to come to the table along with her husband. They were both friendly and great to have around.

With each passenger that came into the room there was hope for Jack. But so far he had seen nothing. Then, across the room he saw Marco. He remembered the man. He had been friends with him and Fabrizio. He remembered the man as he had arm wrestled with another man down in steerage the last night of the trip.


End file.
